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US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent made a surprise visit to the grand opening of Bitcoin bar PubKey in Washington, DC yesterday, sparking optimism in the crypto community even as BTC fell more than 9% to below $83,000.
The visit of such a prominent government official was seen as a boost for Bitcoin, reflecting the asset’s growing acceptance among the general public.
Steve Lubka, president of investor relations at Nakamoto, said that the Treasury Secretary’s appearance on the stand is the “sign” that traders and investors have been “waiting for.”
“Having the Secretary of Treasury at the Pubkey DC launch seems like a moment that I will look back on and say, ‘wow, that was all so obvious,’” Strive CIO Ben Werkman added to X.
I had to make a second purchase today using my “it was so obvious” frame.
Having the Secretary of the Treasury at the Pubkey DC launch seems like a moment I could easily look back on and say “wow, it was all so obvious.”
Stack the Sats and relax. pic.twitter.com/Dew1A4gkFZ
–Ben Werkman (@BenWerkman) November 21, 2025
Bitcoiners, including analyst Fred Krueger, Gemini chief of staff Jeff Tiller, Bitcoin podcaster Natalie Brunell, and Bitcoin Policy Institute co-founder David Zell, also commented on Bessent’s visit, considering it a plus for the leading crypto.
Bitcoin under pressure
But Bessent’s visit came at a time of extreme pressure in the crypto market, with Bitcoin now down more than 33% from its all-time high in early October, and on a day when the market was hit by more than $1.92 billion in liquidations, according to CoinGlass.
Bullish bets on Bitcoin have been hit the hardest, with more than $508 million wiped from these positions in the past hour.
Crypto market liquidations (Source: CoinGlass)
Bitcoin plunged as low as $82,082.84 earlier in the day, but pared its losses to trade at $82,342.37 as of 4:26 a.m. EST. The broader crypto market has followed Bitcoin’s lead, with the overall market cap down more than 7% in the past 24 hours.
Bessent considered pro-crypto
Bessent has been seen by the digital assets community as pro-crypto since his appointment as Treasury Secretary in late 2024.
He has previously echoed President Donald Trump’s remarks that the United States should be the crypto capital of the world. Bessent also supported several crypto bills this year, including the GENIUS Act.
In August, Bessent confirmed that the Treasury was exploring budget-neutral mechanisms to purchase Bitcoin for Trump’s proposed BTC strategic reserve.
More recently, on October 31, Bessent praised the resilience of the Bitcoin network, 17 years after the publication of Satoshi Nakamoto’s white paper.
17 years after the white paper, the Bitcoin network is still operational and more resilient than ever. Bitcoin never stops.@SenateDems could learn a lesson from it.
– Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (@SecScottBessent) October 31, 2025
“Bitcoin never stops,” he said, before adding that Senate Democrats can “learn lessons from this.”
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